How to watch: WCCO Original "A January Night" shows Minneapolis ICE shooting aftermath
Since December, Operation Metro Surge brought thousands of federal agents to Minnesota. Agents killed two people and detained thousands.
In a WCCO Original, photojournalist Tom Aviles takes you through the moments after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent shot a Venezuelan national.
"A January Night" takes you to the middle of the chaos as agents and protesters clash, from flash bangs to tear gas. It also introduces you to the community members who feel it's important to stand up for your neighbors and to fight for what you believe in.
Warning: Some of the video can be hard to watch.
How to watch "A January Night"
You can watch "A January Night" in the video player above or on WCCO's YouTube page.
Jan. 14 shooting prompted protests, false narrative from feds, calls for peace and more
An ICE officer shot a man in the leg on Jan. 14 near North Sixth Street and North 24th Avenue, inciting anger in a city where just a week before, an agent had shot and killed Renee Good.
While federal officials initially accused the man shot of assaulting ICE officers — Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem called it "attempted murder" — federal charges against him and another man were later dropped because of "newly discovered evidence" that was "materially inconsistent" with the allegations, a court filing said.
About a month after the shooting, acting ICE Director Todd Lyons said two officers were placed on administrative leave and were under investigation for lying under oath.
After the shooting, a large crowd quickly formed at the scene, with demonstrators clashing with law enforcement into the early morning hours.
During the protests, dozens of people smashed into two parked, unmarked FBI vehicles. A man from Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota, was later accused of stealing a rifle and suppressor from one of the vehicles.
A Minneapolis family caught in the protest said ICE agents released tear gas under their vehicle while their six children, including an infant, were inside. Destiny and Shawn Jackson said the gas left their baby unconscious and foaming at the mouth, and that strangers and local law enforcement helped them while the feds stood in the way. While the family is physically OK, they say they were traumatized by the incident.
In a late-night news conference amid the protests, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Police Chief Brian O'Hara asked the public to remain peaceful. Gov. Tim Walz issued a similar request on social media, while also asking President Trump to "turn the temperature down."
The day after the tumult, President Trump threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act and send troops into Minnesota, though nothing came of the threat.
It took nearly a month and a second killing by federal agents for officials to announce the end of Operation Metro Surge. Border czar Tom Homan says more than a thousand federal agents have already left Minnesota, though many community members remain distrustful and fearful.
